SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The Bureau of Land Management has authorized one of Utah’s largest coal mines to receive a fee discount of up to about $19 million.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports the federal agency granted the royalty reduction to Sufco Mine in March, lowering the 8 percent royalty rate to 5 percent on the more than 15 million tons of coal extracted from the Wasatch Plateau in central Utah.
The bureau granted the fee reduction in recognition of difficulties the company faces in extracting certain deposits of coal. The bureau cited “significant and unique adverse geologic conditions,” but it did not elaborate on those conditions.
Bureau spokesman Ryan Sutherland says the discount will prevent coal energy from being wasted.
Sufco officials did not respond to the newspaper’s requests for comment.
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.sltrib.com
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